Upgrading from 1.38 to 1.55 - what next?

[karma-lab]

I am going to attempt to upgrade from 1.38a to the latest 1.55f, keeping my products, templates and data.

I have been consulting the document "How do I rebuild my site on the new version, instead of upgrading?":

https://www.zen-cart.com/entry.php?3...d-of-upgrading

So far, I have built a complete copy of my current live site in a separate folder (named 'store_bak') and separate database, to test the upgrade on. I have modified the configure.php files in that folder to have the modified URLs and verified that the copy is indeed referencing only files in the copy folder. It has a copy of the database imported into it, so it's a complete separate copy.

I have used a file comparison tool to identify all modified or additional files in my current site as compared to an original 1.38a set of files.

However, I'm now confused as to what the next step is. Am I supposed to replace all of the 1.38 zencart files in the copy (store_bak) with the 1.55 set of files and then see what happens? And then start trying to reflect my modifications into it?

[dbltoe]

You will need to follow the directions for rebuild versus upgrade. You're upgrading a Model A to a '68 Mustang. Templates, mods, and many other things you've done will not work with 1.5.5f.

Also of concern are the current settings on the server. 1.3.8 will fail at PHP 5.3 and 1.5.5f will need to be at least 5.2.10. The PHP 5.2.10 can only be used for a quick rebuild as many mods will not work with that low a PHP version. In December of this year, all PHP levels below 7.1 will cease being supported.

1.3.8 uses MySQL 4 and will error out with MySQL 5 while 1.5.5 needs MySQL 5.1 as a minimum.

What this all means is that a lot of planning needs to go into this process because of the age of ZC and the server settings.

AND, will your host be able to handle the new settings required to run 1.5.5.

1.3.8 is a security risk as is running PHP and MySQL versions that old on a server.

If your host is not able to support the requirements for 1.5.5, you might want to find an inexpensive host that will. You can load the 1.5.5 to them, keep your existing site selling, build on the new platform until it's ready, and point your domain to wherever you decide to host the 1.5.5.

Your temporary and final locations can be anywhere that supports 1.5.5f settings and, when you've got it going, just changing the domain settings will point to the new location within 24 hours.

[karma-lab]

Thanks, but that doesn't really answer my question.
I've already verified that PHP and mySQL versions etc. are compatible. That's not an issue.

I AM reading the instructions for rebuild vs. upgrade, and I just don't understand what to do next.

I have a complete copy of my site running 1.38a to experiment on. OK. So now what do I do? Replace all the files with the 1.55 files?

[dbltoe]

With a rebuild, there is no copy of the original site. There IS a copy needed of the database, but you will need to download the new 1.5.5f to wherever you're going to build it.

DO NOT use an auto=installer

You'll create a new database for the install and follow the instructions for rebuild.